Where refugees in Ohio are arriving from
During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In February 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Ohio in February 2024.
February refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in February
To Ohio:
#1. Congo: 133
#2. Syria: 32
#3. Somalia: 25
#4. Sudan: 20
#5. Afghanistan: 17
#6. Ethiopia: 13
#7. Burundi: 12
#8. Eritrea: 11
#9. Republic of South Sudan: 10
#10. Venezuela: 9
#11. Nicaragua: 6
#12. El Salvador: 5
#13. Iraq: 4
#13. Central African Republic: 4
#15. Guatemala: 3
#15. Uganda: 3
#15. Ukraine: 3
#18. Russia: 2
#18. Uzbekistan: 2
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,426
#2. Afghanistan: 1,299
#3. Venezuela: 1,230
#4. Syria: 981
#5. Burma: 826
States that accepted the most refugees in February:
#1. Texas: 1,062
#2. California: 572
#3. Florida: 554
#4. New York: 507
#5. Arizona: 450
Read on to see the countries that Ohio has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 645
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Ohio: 347
To the U.S. as a whole: 6,818
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 673
#2. Michigan: 655
#3. Pennsylvania: 465
#4. Texas: 375
#5. California: 361
#3. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 118
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,925
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,228
#2. Virginia: 655
#3. Texas: 542
#4. Washington: 440
#5. Maryland: 272
#4. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Ohio: 110
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,283
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 419
#2. Ohio: 110
#3. Georgia: 63
#4. New York: 62
#5. Arizona: 61
#5. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 50
To the U.S. as a whole: 870
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Missouri: 57
#2. Nebraska: 56
#3. Texas: 55
#3. New York: 55
#5. Pennsylvania: 54
#6. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Ohio: 41
To the U.S. as a whole: 735
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 73
#2. Washington: 68
#3. Maryland: 61
#4. North Carolina: 45
#5. Ohio: 41
#7. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Ohio: 40
To the U.S. as a whole: 725
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 249
#2. California: 110
#3. Ohio: 40
#4. New York: 37
#5. Kentucky: 35
#8. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Ohio: 31
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,899
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Texas: 327
#2. Illinois: 297
#3. New York: 266
#4. Georgia: 192
#5. Arizona: 189
#8. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Ohio: 31
To the U.S. as a whole: 762
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 136
#2. Michigan: 95
#3. Nebraska: 45
#3. Texas: 45
#5. Washington: 38
#10. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Ohio: 27
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,504
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 501
#2. Texas: 304
#3. Georgia: 146
#4. Illinois: 143
#5. Tennessee: 110
#11. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Ohio: 26
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,920
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 270
#2. Texas: 172
#3. North Carolina: 148
#4. Florida: 113
#5. New York: 87
#12. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 610
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 59
#2. Texas: 56
#3. Connecticut: 53
#4. Colorado: 46
#5. Minnesota: 44
#12. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Ohio: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 232
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 67
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 21
#5. lowa: 11
#14. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Ohio: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 786
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 151
#2. California: 60
#3. Texas: 48
#4. Minnesota: 44
#5. North Carolina: 40
#14. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 481
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 63
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 30
#16. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Ohio: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 217
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 32
#2. New York: 29
#3. Arizona: 28
#4. Pennsylvania: 14
#5. Maryland: 13
#17. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Ohio: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 691
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 84
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Maryland: 76
#4. Virginia: 55
#5. North Carolina: 53
#18. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
#18. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Ohio: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 395
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Texas: 45
#2. Missouri: 38
#3. Georgia: 31
#4. Michigan: 24
#4. Massachusetts: 24
#20. Uzbekistan
Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 40
Top states receiving refugees from Uzbekistan
#1. New York: 13
#2. Washington: 12
#3. California: 8
#4. Ohio: 6
#5. Minnesota: 1
#20. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 87
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 16
#2. Georgia: 13
#2. New York: 13
#4. Arizona: 8
#4. Montana: 8
#22. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Ohio: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 39
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Massachusetts: 6
#2. Missouri: 5
#2. Ohio: 5
#4. Michigan: 4
#4. Washington: 4
#23. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 138
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. New York: 24
#1. Pennsylvania: 24
#3. South Carolina: 22
#4. Michigan: 12
#5. Missouri: 11
#23. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 45
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 13
#2. Texas: 6
#3. Ohio: 4
#4. Illinois: 3
#4. Pennsylvania: 3
#25. India
Refugees that arrived from India since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 7
Top states receiving refugees from India
#1. Oregon: 4
#2. Ohio: 3
#25. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 685
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 59
#3. Texas: 54
#4. New York: 49
#5. Washington: 46
#27. Jamaica
Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 13
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2
#1. Ohio: 2
#27. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 184
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 51
#2. California: 37
#3. Minnesota: 20
#4. North Carolina: 19
#4. Oregon: 19
#27. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 505
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 87
#2. Florida: 65
#3. California: 33
#4. Georgia: 32
#4. New York: 32
#27. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 73
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 7
#2. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
#27. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 88
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 11
#2. Pennsylvania: 10
#3. South Carolina: 6
#3. Massachusetts: 6
#3. California: 6
#27. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 62
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 5
#5. Florida: 4
#33. Nepal
Refugees that arrived from Nepal since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Nepal
#1. Ohio: 1
#33. Palestine
Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 16
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 9
#2. New Jersey: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#4. Ohio: 1
#4. Texas: 1
#33. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 205
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 110
#2. Texas: 18
#3. North Carolina: 10
#4. Washington: 9
#4. Illinois: 9
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.